Five Stages
by keroRiBBIT
Summary: Tenten thinks she's undergoing the five stages of grief when she was simply falling in love.


_**A/N:**_ _This was supposed to be an experimental drabble but hell. This blew up in my face, such a pain to write. Haha. I think it turned out okay. Hope you enjoy!_

 _P.S. I'm not a lawyer nor a law student. Feel free to correct me if I made technical errorsand this was barely edited. Sorry in advance for any grammatical errors as well._

 **Disclaimer: I only own the plot.**

Stage 1: Denial

 _'I'm not in love with him.'_

Tenten almost destroyed the keyboard with her fingers as she smashed each key with the appropriate letters for his name.

H-Y-U-G-A N-E-J-I

She pressed the 'Enter' key with a little more force than necessary and proceeded to handle the mouse with the same vigor as she clicked 'Print.'

While waiting for the file to finish printing, she fished for her phone and idly scrolled through her news feed.

 _'What's so good about him anyways?'_ She asked herself, mindlessly tapping her phone.

 _'He's so cocky, not to mention that he's so cold towards everyone.'_ She had clicked on a hyperlink that took her to a favorite Harry Potter fan page.

 _'He's like Snape,'_ she thought as she browsed through the page's gallery.

 _'Offensive, cold, an arrogant, know-it-all weirdo.'_ She felt delighted with this fact, not even looking at her phone anymore as she smiled to herself.

 _'Minus the greasy hair though, goodness knows that the man has prettier hair than mine.'_ A chuckle escaped her lips at the thought of his beautiful mane of coffee colored hair.

"No!" She slapped herself in the face and focused on her phone once more. It displayed a conversation between Dumbledore and Snape. The greatest headmaster of Hogwarts had been telling the greasy-haired teacher the deed that must be done (You must be the one to kill me, Severus).

Tenten smiled at the meme, someone had inserted the 'Seen' icon right in the middle with Snape's blank face and ended it with Dumbledore's dialogue, "Don't ignore me, Severus."

She felt herself chuckle in response as she swiped to the next picture. _'Naw, Snape is much better than than Adventure Time's Ice King.'_

'Snape's smart,'

 _"I heard the boss was a top notcher in the bar exam!" Despite their hush tones, Tenten could very clearly hear her gossiping colleague's conversation._

 _"It's not much of a surprise really, he graduated as batch valedictorian back in law school, there was a small article on it in the paper!" An excited high-pitched voice added._

 _Another joined in the conversation as he rolled his chair near the group, "I read that one! He was given one of the Student of the Year awards by the Prime Minister himself!"_

'He's devoted...'

 _"Mr. Hyuga?" Tenten was surprised, she thought she had been the only one left at the firm. She was in need of some caffeine. There was a case she needed to crack and her house was no place for such intense research, what with the bed seducing her, but she was shocked to find that someone else beat her to the coffee vendo machine._

 _"Miss Sarutobi," he acknowledged, voice as smooth as dark chocolate, a paper cup filled with coffee at hand._

 _Tenten silently made her ways to the coffee machine and pressed the button indicating her preference. She heard the paper cup slip down the little shoot near the bottom of the machine and began to fill with much needed caffeine._

 _As she waited for her cup to fill, she turned towards her companion, the big-shot himself. "May I ask what're you doing at this late hour, sir?" She asked, trying to make conversation._

 _Without looking,"Same as you, working," was his flippant response._

 _Tenten hummed, uncaring. He wasn't really known for his skills in small talk. She paid him no heed, lifting the paper cup from the machine to her lips as she inhaled it's aroma before taking a sip._

 _"I'll get to work now," she muttered with a smile before showing herself out of the pantry. She saw him nod from the corner of her eye._

 _When it was nearing midnight, Tenten thought it was high time to go home but as she left her workspace she noticed that the lights at his office was still on._

 _She slowly padded her feet towards the double glass doors and knocked, when she heard him give permission, she carefully opened the door without a sound. "Mr. Hyuga? Aren't you gonna go home yet?"_

 _He gave the barest shake of his head and said, "I'm nearly finished Miss Sarutobi, you may leave without me."_

 _She left without another word. The next morning she heard the janitor say that " The boss spent the night (again)," as she logged in at 7am. Tenten could not resist taking a peek at the office._

 _He lay there, head cradled by his arms as he slept on the desk, still wearing his clothes from yesterday._

'He doesn't let anybody see the best of him...'

 _Not so surprising, Neji Hyuga had won the trial case. After months of hearing after hearing, the man trialled for murder had been proven innocent and justice was served._

 _Mr. Hyuga and his client were the first to leave the courtroom, deftly ignoring the media that bombarded them with questions._

 _Tenten had found him and their client in the prep room of the court house. She was about to enter the room but stopped when the semi-opened door told her that they were having a discussion._

 _The man and his wife were profusely thanking him. The brunette suspected that the wife had tears in her eyes in gratitude._

 _"Attorney," the proven innocent man choked in happiness "Thank you so, so much!"_

 _She heard her boss' quiet voice. "I'm just doing my job, Hikaru-san." There was no trace of his usual arrogance, no inflated ego, not an ounce of cockiness! She didn't even feel him smirk._

 _"The legal fees! I assure you, no matter how long it takes, I will pay for it in full! No matter what!"_

 _Tenten let out a small gasp of surprise at his next words, "Never mind the pay, Hikaru-san. I'll take care of it. Use the money to provide for your family."_

 _"No!" Indignant, the man exclaimed. She would not be surprised if he were furiously shaking his head right now. "I couldn't possibly. After everything you've done-" but Mr. Hyuga did not let him finish. Tenten heard the sound of footsteps._

 _"I insist. Consider it a gift," he said. Tenten realized too late that the footsteps were going towards her and when she finally got her wits about her, the door opened. Mr. Hyuga stood, no trace of a smile when he looked at her in surprise._

 _She thought that she might have stopped breathing._

' _Nope,'_ she convinced. _'Not like Snape at all.'_

There was a moment wherein her mind was carefully blank and she could hear her heart thump in her chest.

 _"Miss Sarutobi?" What are you doing there and what have you heard? The latter question was unvoiced but the narrowing of his eyes was enough to get the message across._

 _"I was just about to congratulate you, sir." Wordlessly, she stepped out of his way and let him pass through into the hallway._

 _When he passed by her though and mere inches separated them, she said in a whisper that only he could hear, "That was compassionate of you."_

 _She saw him glance at her before walking away, not saying anything._

 _'Maybe...I...just...do...'_

Tenten was snapped out of her musings when her phone suddenly blared out a pop song. Surprised, she accidentally tossed the phone into the air and proceeded to juggle it as it leapt from one hand to the other. What was wrong with her?

When she finally managed a snug hold on her phone, one look at the contact picture made her heart plummet down to her stomach.

Deciding that there was no delaying the inevitable, she swiped the phone and pressed it to her ear. "May I help you Mr. Hyuga?"

"I need those papers in three minutes. Kindly get me a sandwich from the pantry on the way here." Click.

oOo

Stage 2: Anger

Tenten glared daggers at her phone. Previous (positive) thoughts about the insufferable jerk toasted in her anger.

 _'What is his stupid secretary for if he's going to make me do her job,'_ she thought to herself as she furiously snatched the freshly printed document from the printer, stapled it and placed it inside a manila envelope, miraculously not crumpling it in her roughness.

' _Stupid, stupid asshole,'_ she kept the mantra inside her head even as she entered the elevator. She pressed the floor button with a little more force than necessary and bristled the whole ride up to his floor.

 _'Stupid ass. How the hell did he even get my cellphone number? Hell, stalker much?_ ' She grabbed her phone from her pocket and examined it closely.

It was a simple smart phone with the most basic of functions necessary for work. The company provided it for her, like it does all its employees.

 _The company provided it for her._

 _'Okay, maybe he's not a stalker. Still...I have a telephone in my desk, why not use that then?'_

Upon further examination of her phone, she has come upon his contact picture in her call logs. She had took the picture herself. He was standing on a stage, the lights were focused on him and he had a mic at hand. It was last year's Christmas party where he was always obligated to give a speech. She sat near the raised platform and could clearly see the way the lights and shadows played with his aristocratic features; she was close enough to see the small smile of pride that graced his features and could not help but snap a picture. It had been his contact photo ever since.

Tenten narrowed her eyes in distaste. Quickly, she tapped the gallery icon and browsed through it, looking for one particular picture that she knows that she saved before.

 _'Aha!'_

With a sinister smile on her face, she hurriedly set the picture as her Mr. Hyuga's new contact photo.

Ding!

With a last smile, she tucked her phone back in her pocket and left the confining space of the elevator. Her feral grin disappeared however when she caught sight of Mr. Hyuga's secretary.

She felt her blood boil at the sight of the red-headed, gum-popping, incompetent ugh.

"The boss is busy," she drawled out, popping a balloon gum. "Said not to be 'isturb, yeah."

Tenten felt her eye twitch in response. "Yeah, well, the _boss_ ," she almost spat the word, "Wanted this file in his office, now. If you would like to get up on your ass and actually do your job," she glared at the girl, "Give it to him, will you?" She tossed the file at her desk.

The red-headed secretary actually had the audacity to be appalled, her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide with incredulity.

"I-I-I'll have you know!" She sputtered out, pointing a shaking finger at her in anger, "Mr. Hyuga appreciates my work ethic, unlike you, who's sloppiness in appearance extends to her efficiency at work!"

Tenten unconsciously looked down at her outfit, a presentable three piece pantsuit, and looked at the woman's pencil skirt and blazer combination. She cocked an eyebrow, unmoved.

"Listen here, missy, I'm a lawyer here and you," she emphasized the pronoun, "Are a measly secretary. An incredibly useless one at that. Also-!"

She was cut off by the secretary holding up a hand in a gesture for her to shut up. She was wearing a smirk on her face. The telephone was ringing.

With a superior look, she haughtily said before answering the phone, "Excuse me, _the boss,_ " Tenten gritted her teeth at the title, "is calling."

Tenten was left to seethe as she observed the woman's half of the conversation.

 _'I did not just almost get into a cat fight because of him.'_

"Hai, Mr. Hyuga." Tenten saw the secretary glance at her, somewhat disgruntled.

"The boss would like to see you in his office," her haughty voice was back.

Tenten rolled her eyes, "Gimme that," she snatched the manila envelope she just tossed at the secretary's desk.

With a flip of her braid, Tenten passed the obnoxious secretary and entered the glass doors of Mr. Hyuga's office.

His office was well-lit by the floor to ceiling windows. Tenten didn't know why but she was surprised. She was sorta expecting a more dark, cold...vampire-y scene. It was not often that she get to visit his office. The most she could do was peek (not that she does so frequently, she's not that petty. Most of the time).

Nothing really changed since the last time she was there. There was a lounge and a sofa at the side, a door to his own private bathroom, little pieces of art hung here and there, his desk right across from her and Mr. Hyuga himself was seated behind it, eyeing her carefully.

"The file?" He oh-so calmly asked with the arrogant smirk on his. He was being his usual self. A vein was threatening to burst inside her head.

Tenten wanted to throw the envelope straight to his head.

She raised her hand back and with one flick of her wrist, the manila envelope found its way to his face.

If only she could do it though.

Instead, she walked the few feet that separated them and placed the envelope, gentler than she would have wanted, on his awaiting hand.

He examined the envelope like he can see right through it and actually see its contents before placing it besides his laptop.

Tenten turned around and was about to show herself out when he coughed from behind her.

She had the urge to sigh but instead, she plastered on an obviously plastic smile and faced her boss a second time. "Yes?" She asked, voice sickeningly sweet.

Mr. Hyuga raised an eyebrow and extended his hand, palm facing upward. He was expecting something.

A groan resonated inside her head but it never came out of her lips. He was purposely making her look like a fool!

With an inward grimace, she asked, "Is there something you need, Mr. Hyuga?"

His other eyebrow joined the one already raised on his forehead.

Rustle. Rustle.

He opened his mouth and asked in his chill-inducing Snape-like voice, "The sandwich?"

Tenten heard something crash and roll inside her head, it must've been her brain.

"Err," she transferred her weight from one foot to another. "I'm sorry sir, I forgot to get you one."

Mr. Hyuga then sighed, like the world was in his shoulders. Tenten wanted to wipe the floor with his handsome face.

"Shame," he mumbled. "I was feeling quite hungry."

"Uhm," her mouth moved on its own accord on the outside while she tried to keep a clamp on it on the inside. "Would you like me to go get that sandwich now?" She asked like a meek little assistant and not a kick-ass lawyer herself.

She was mentally beating herself with a baseball bat when Mr. Hyuga shook his head and said, "There's no need."

He surprised her when he suddenly stood up and left the confines of his desk and closed the gap between him and her to a mere three feet.

She reached just below his eye-level in her two-inch heels.

"Accompany me to lunch Miss Sarutobi, since you failed to provide me one." He said.

 _'I'm not your mother to provide you food!'_ She wanted to scream.

 _'No, but you want to be his wife for his other needs.'_ A traitorous voice said in her thoughts.

She was mentally shaking her head to clear all the cloud that has been making her think stupid things.

He was already clutching the doorknob when Tenten finally taped together her muddled thoughts.

"I, uh, I-err have work to do?" Damn it. She wanted it to be indignant. Fierce! Where the hell did the blubber came from? Curse him for turning her into this pile of goo.

On the other hand, Neji observed the spiteful woman in amusement as she was silently willing her hand to not slap herself silly.

He decided to cut through her mental debate, "Miss Sarutobi?"

Tenten snapped her head in response like a well trained dog.(There goes another slap to her mental self.)

He was opening the door for her and she was staring at him stupidly.

Then he spoke again with that infuriating smirk that screamed how much of a fool she was being, "Would you care to leave my office and accompany me to lunch, Miss Sarutobi?"

"Uhm, yes." She said, scurrying past him and the open door.

She stopped abruptly once she was in the hall, "I mean no!" This time she did slap herself in the forehead. She was getting red in the face.

"I'm sorry?"

"What I mean, sir." She started, her back towards him, not allowing him to see her flushed face. "I mean that I can't accompany you to lunch sir, I have work waiting for me two floors down."

Mr. Hyuga shook his head. "Miss Suriyami will tend to that, won't you?" He snapped his head to the side, towards his secretary who was caught mid-pop.

"Since you're not busy enough to throw that gum away, won't you please occupy your time into organizing anything and everything that is, and will be on, Miss Sarutobi's desk as well as mine."

Tenten realized something:

Mr. Hyuga has the talent of condescending people and making them feel like they're worth less than filth in the most polite of ways. His expression has a way of counteracting the politeness that was oozing out of his tone. Grudgingly, she mentally applauded him.

oOo

Stage 3: Bargaining

The whole gravity of the situation just dawned on her the moment the elevator doors closed and they were already descending the tall building.

 _'Hell, he just shamed his secretary for me.'_ She blushed.

Then another thought, a more daunting one, came to her like an epiphany.

 _'Holy cow I'm gonna eat lunch with Mr. Hyuga.'_

She took quite a while in processing this.

"Aw hell," she let the thought pass her lips.

"Hn?" He looked at her in question.

She blushed even harder. "Nothing, sir."

In her head she was already praying for divine intervention. She would do anything for the ground to swallow her whole.

 _'The elevator is taking a long time to reach the ground floor,'_ Tenten pondered.

As if hearing her complaint, the lift suddenly jerked.

"Ah!" She yelped, hand closing in on anything near her to stop herself from stumbling.

The elevator started to descend again.

Tenten was trying to even out her wildly beating heart when once again, Mr. Hyuga said her name in inquiry. "Miss Sarutobi?" She could hear the amusement in his tone.

She snapped her eyes towards him, and trailed down to his clothed arm that was ferociously clasped by her hand. It must've hurt. Her nails had dug onto his skin.

"Eep," immediately, she removed her hand.

An apology was already forming in her mouth when the elevator lights flickered on and off.

The bun haired stilled, preparing herself for anything. No amount of preparation readied her though, when the elevator jerked down again suddenly before stopping altogether. She groped for something again. Her hand found his sleeve once more. But-

 _Rip_.

She felt her head hit something hard on her way down and everything went black.

oOo

Tenten gave a small groan. Her head was pounding.

"Hn," she heard someone grunt.

Bleary, she opened her eyes to see...nothing but darkness.

"Are you awake Miss Sarutobi?" The voice came from her right. Tenten craned her neck in that direction hoping to see something.

"Where am I?" She asked instead of answering the question.

She heard the person sigh in relief(?) Tenten wasn't sure.

"We're still in the elevator Miss Sarutobi."

Elevator?

Mr. Hyuga!

She snapped up to a sitting position.

The elevator was jerking and she blacked out! Why?

"You hit your head on the rails before you fell on the floor," he answered her mental question.

It was a good thing it was dark because she was sure her face resembled a tomato right about now.

"How long was I out?"

She heard the rustle of clothes and felt something move from her right before she got an answer. "A few minutes, five at most."

"What's gonna-?"

"Maintenance already came here, said it would take an hour at least to fix the lift."

There was a sound of more rustling then Tenten felt a hand feel its way up to her head, feeling a bump that was not her shallow buns.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a murmur.

Tenten nodded, forgetting that he couldn't see it but he seemed to understand. "I'm sorry I ripped your shirt," she mumbled instead.

A few moments passed in silence and his hand never left her. Instead, it trailed down her head, feeling it's way to her neck and finally resting on her shoulder. Carefully, gently, he pulled her towards himself, so that part of her back was rested snugly on his chest.

"I was told that you were afraid of the dark," he muttered softly.

Okay, whoever said that was obviously lying. Never was she afraid of the dark, ever.

But she felt so comfortable there despite the excessive heat. She felt safe. God knows she wouldn't trade anything for this wonderful feeling.

oOo

Stage 4: Depression

That night, Tenten drowned herself in a vat of cookie dough ice cream, watching Korean soaps.

Her sullen aura had her dog, a large German shepherd, place its head in her lap, ears flat on his crown. Tenten absent mindedly ran played with his fur covered head, tracing a thumb along its muzzle.

She let out a breath that carried all her problems.

They had been stuck in the elevator for the better part of an hour. The whole time, she had been physically close to him than she would have ever wanted. Mr. Hyuga had been taking nothing but an absolute gentleman to her in the darkness.

Granted, he was his usual silent self. The companiable silence was only by questions of her well-being. Each time, Tenten would give a jolt of surprise. She could feel the vibrations in his chest when he spoke, voice rumbling in smooth, deep tones.

And sometimes, she could feel him smiling.

Tenten shook her head sharply. Willing the thought to just go away.

Nothing really happened much after that. They still went to the lunch date. It had been awfully uneventful, just as she first thought it was.

Then, they made it back to the office. She was surprised to find her desk extremely organized. As it turned out, the red-headed excuse of an employee can be useful, if threatened enough. The secretary refused to acknowledge her after being forced to arrange her files. Tenten couldn't say that she was devastated.

Later that day, when she was about to go home, Mr. Hyuga had insisted he drive her.

It was...mind-numbing, to say the least.

 _Tenten, due to earlier mishaps, opted to go down via the fire exit from the twentieth floor. She didn't know if she should be insulted when Mr. Hyuga had made known his surprise (and amusement) that she was actually serious in taking the flight of stairs down. He was saying so with his forehead covered in a thin sheet of sweat and a small smile on his face._

 _She felt herself mirror the expression once they reached the lobby but she was wipe it off her face._

 _'He's your boss, he's bad for you!' A voice in her head kept saying and she can't say that she disagrees._

 _As they reached his car, with her head preoccupied with the thousand voices that kept telling her that this was a bad idea, she absent-mindedly opened the door._

 _"Holy mother of cheese!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, the car's alarm was blaring mad._

 _"Make it stop!" She continued to wail and it was too late to notice Mr. Hyuga chuckling._

 _"I believe I can't Miss Sarutobi. That's not my car."_

 _It was only then Tenten looked at him, and indeed, he was in front of a sleek silver Jaguar while she was infront of the mediocre Honda Lancer beside it._

 _Her face was burning with embarrassment. The still alarming car from the background did not help her flamed face any better._

oOo

Tenten stuffed her mouth again with a mouthful of ice cream. "I'm such a fool," she said to herself in the darkness of her apartment, the t.v. in front of her a mere background noise.

But he wasn't so bad, she could not help but think.

 _'He's perfect,'_ she thought.

It was her that was the problem. She wasn't even that pretty. She could not help but admit that, despite herself being more efficient, Mr. Hyuga's secretary was prettier than her.

 _'He doesn't really see you, you know.'_ The voice that she normally just brushes aside was ringing loudly in her ears.

 _'You look worse than dirt.'_ It egged her on, provoking her. _'No wonder everybody left you. You're nothing special.'_

 _'You're own parents didn't want you. You've got no friends.'_

A harsh bark of a laugh resonated in her mind. ' _Even that high school sweetheart of yours eventually left you for a better woman.'_

Tenten did nothing but stare blankly at the crying mother in the television.

 _'No body wanted you. So why the hell would someone as perfect and as unflawless as Hyuga Neji actually want someone like you?'_

She stuffed another spoonful of ice cream, if only to keep her lip from trembling.

Not willing to even shed a single tear, Tenten closed her eyes and leaned back on the cushioned couch.

A little while later, she opened her eyes again to see that the soap had ended and the local network was about to go offline. The semi-lit room was giving her a hard time to see and so she fumbled for the remote on the couch. Once she found it stuck between cushions, she wasted no time in turning the TV off and enveloping herself in darkness.

With swiftness of a person used to taking care of herself, she placed the remaining ice cream back to the freezer and washed all the utensils. Afterwards, she arrange the mess she created in the living room with only the kitchen light on and proceeded to her en suite to brush her teeth.

As she lay down that night she had come to a conclusion that she would not deny herself.

"I'm in love with him." She was setting herself for heartbreak and she knows it.

 _'But I don't want to be in love with him,'_ was her last thought before she retired for the night.

oOo

Acceptance

Tenten did everything in her power to avoid him. She went to work thirty minutes early and buried herself in paper work and client calls. Ten minutes before her lunch break, she was already out to the elevator, making sure that she was surrounded colleagues and that there was no chance of him seeing her at all as she left the building to a nearby restaurant.

An hour later though, when she returned to the building, what awaited on her desk was not only paperwork but also fragrant grande-sized Starbucks coffee and a slice of blueberry cheesecake placed in a transparent container. A silver fork was wrapped in tissue was on top of it.

She last noticed the single white rose that lay next to her pen.

 _'Odd.'_

She examined the cup, checking whose name was written on it. It appears that the person who bought this had used her name as 'Tenten' was sloppily written with black marker.

Next was the cheesecake. There was nothing to see there it seems. Tenten opened the container and almost drooled at the luscious desert. Not able to stop herself, she removed the tissue covering the fork and sliced herself a small piece before enveloping it in her mouth.

She moaned at the sweet, melt-in-your-mouth taste.

After another bite, Tenten finally turned towards the white rose. She raised her eyebrows at the sight of a note elegantly tied to it with a gold thread.

"Miss Sarutobi," it read, the writing was small and neat. At once. Tenten knew where the surprise had came from. Her heart was thudding inside her chest with an intensity of a drum on steroids.

"I'm sorry for yesterday's unfortunate incidents. Rest assured, everything would be wiped clean from my mind if you wish it."

"Although, I rather that you not because yesterday was very entertaining," Tenten bristled at this, familiar anger and irritation was returning to her tenfold. Nonetheless, she continued.

"Regardless of yesterday, I would like to go with you to an official date."

Tenten dropped the note in surprise and it fluttered to the ground.

A date? He's actually asking her, her, for a date? She could not fully grasp the thought in her head. Everything was becoming a jumbled mess.

'Why?' She asked. Suddenly, her insecurities from the night before was rushing to her like a flood.

"Like I said, Miss Sarutobi. You're very entertaining." His voice said from behind her. He felt so close that Tenten failed to stop the chill that ran down her spine.

She turned around and was greeted by the sight of Mr. Hyuga's silver-white eyes staring at her intensely before smirking and moving beside her to lean on her desk as she stood rigidly.

"So do you accept?"

 _'He just finds you entertaining, he said so himself. You're nothing but a clown!'_ There it was again, the voice that told her that she wasn't good enough.

Despite her heart beating like crazy, she managed to brush aside the pestering voice and salvage the part of her that made her what she was today, a strong, independent, kick-ass, lawyer.

Unknown to her, Neji saw this and found himself admiring her even more.

"I'm sorry Mr. Hyuga," she smiled at herself inwardly at the professional tone that she was able to produce, her confidence came back to her. "But I can't accept your proposal." She said with finality.

Mr. Hyuga doesn't seem unbothered by it. In fact, he looked like he expected nothing less of her.

As she realized that, she couldn't help but add jokingly, brimming with confidence, "I accept the cake though."

He actually laughed. He didn't chuckle, but he laughed! It was deep and husky and he was covering it slightly with the back of his hand and Tenten could not help but stare at him, butterflies furiously hovering in her stomach.

A few moments later, his laugh turned into mere chuckles and stopped entirely. He was now smiling at her tenderly. She was reminded of the time he held her close at the elevator. He was smiling at her with the same gentleness that she did not miss the affection that was directed at her. The butterflies had calmed down and instead her heart swelled with warmth.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he murmured with a smile before standing up, fixing his jacket and made to leave her space. As he reached for the door though, he stopped and turned to her, his smile gone and his ever familiar smirk now in place.

"Bear in mind though," he started, determination in his eyes. "I'm not one to give up so easily. I advice that you prepare yourself, Tenten," her heart skipped a beat at the mention of her name.

With a last look, Mr. Hyuga left.

Not believing that the scene above just happened, she dazedly slumped on her seat, confused.

After a while though, she straightened her back, similar determination fierce in her eyes as she smirked at nothing in particular.

 _'Challenge accepted.'_

 _ **A/N:** We never really did find out what Neji's new contact photo was. Haha. Anyways, sorry if it was too out of character. Thank you for reading! _


End file.
